Rumor spread like wildfire in Bollywood, that three years affair between Aishwarya Rai and Vivek Oberai was over.

Vivek Oberai, who was utilizing every opportunity to exclaim his love with the most beautiful lady of the earth, must be sorrowful.

Someone who is known to be close to Aish and Vivek says, “The main reason for their spilt is Aishwarya’s continuous refusal to acknowledge their relationship publicly. Moreover, Ash’s mother never liked him. They didn’t like Vivek professed his love for Ash on several TV shows.”

According to another version, Aishwarya Rai’s parents were urging early marriage, but Vivek wanted to focus on his career and not prepared to tie knots.

It was in August this year, Aishwarya was seen together with Vivek, in a friends birthday party.

Even after her return from Tunisia, Aishwarya made herself busy in new Bollywood movies. This might have done enough damage to the relationship, which was already damaged.

In the premiere of Viveks movie Home Delivery, was attended by Vivek and his family, Aish was the notable absentee.

Aishwarya Rai is in Tunisia for her first Hollywood shooting. “The Last Legion” is Roman sword-and-sandal epic, in which Aishwarya Rai sheds her angelic image to play a Byzantine warrior woman on horseback.

“Shooting will commence shortly,” Aishwarya Rai’s agent Hari Singh told. . Adding that Aishwarya Rai had left for the North African country earlier this week.

The movie, being produced by Dino De Laurentis and Raffaella De Laurentis and directed by Doug Lefler, is based on author Valerio Massimo Manfredi’s 2003 novel of the same name.

Aishwarya Rai, a former Miss World and a leading actress in Bollywood, India’s prolific Hindi-language film industry, will play the lead female role of “Mira”, a Byzantine warrior in the film opposite actors Colin Firth and Ben Kingsley.

The movie “The Last Legion” is set against the fall of the Roman Empire in 470 AD and centres on its last emperor, 12-year-old Romulus Augustus, played by Thomas Sangster.

Rome was then a city on the brink of chaos and destruction. Imprisoned by rebels on the island of Capri, Romulus is aided by his teacher Ambrosinus (Kingsley) and legionnaire Aurelius (Colin Firth), to escape from the island.

Aishwarya Rai accompanies this small band of Roman soldiers whose mission is to restore the glory of the Roman empire.

“The list of requirements for the one major female role in the film, Mira, was long. We needed an actress of rare beauty, with enough screen presence to hold her own against the likes of Colin Firth and Sir Ben Kingsley. Aishwarya Rai was the obvious choice,” Doug Lefler told Hollywood trade magazine Variety.

Lefler’s credits include second unit direction on “Spider-Man” and “A Simple Plan”.

Aishwarya Rai made her first foray into foreign production with “Bride and Prejudice”, directed by Indian-born British director Gurinder Chaddha, which disappointed at the box-office in India but was a success with audiences in Britain and the United States.

Aishwarya Rai’s other overseas venture, “Mistress of Spices”, directed by Paul Berges, husband of Gurinder Chaddha, is slated for a Toronto Film festival opening in September.

Aishwarya Rai was selected by Time magazine as one of the “100 most influential people in the world” in 2004.

In recent months, Aishwarya Rai has been media-shy following the release of controversial tapes in which her ex-boyfriend and Bollywood star Salman Khan allegedly is heard threatening her with underworld retribution if Aishwarya Rai failed to do a stage show overseas. [Aishwarya Rai broke up with Salman Khan 2002 and roumered with Vivek Oberai]

Contrary to media speculations of a split, Aishwarya Rai and Vivek Oberoi are still together, friends affirm.

“People think that Aishwarya Rai is into self-denial just because she keeps quiet about her feelings for Vivek. That isn’t true. The fact is, Aishwarya Rai is a naturally shy person - she feels far more strongly than she can ever express,” a close friend of the Aishwarya Rai told IANS.

“Unlike Kareena who wears her heart on her sleeve, Aishwarya Rai chooses to keep it tucked away from public eye. She is terribly shy about broadcasting her personal feelings.”

According to the friend, cynics had tried their level best to provoke Vivek when Aishwarya Rai, the green-eyed beauty merely giggled away questions about a boyfriend in David Letterman’s chat show “60 minutes” recently.

“Vivek is far more demonstrative and would like to express his love more strongly. But because of Aishwarya Rai’s diffident nature, he has to be discreet,” the friend said.

In fact, the two are reportedly constantly in touch even though Aishwarya Rai is currently scuttling between Britain and the US for the shooting of Paul Berges’ Mistress Of Spices.